Women of Wynnum Manly

Amreen Kahlon was part of the Wynnum Manly District Cricket Club team that won the women's KFC T20 MAX competition recently.  In addition to being a great cricketer, Amreen has a keen interest in psychology, which is she is currently studying. She is able to see the clear connection between psychology and sporting success.  It was a refreshing conversation with Amreen and I loved hearing her...

Kara Cook MP became the elected Federal Member for Bonner in May 2025, making her the third woman representing the Bayside across all levels of government.   I had a lovely conversation with Kara about what interested her in entering politics, and how her life from a young person in Yeppoon has been one with a strong connection to community values. Her early career work as an advocate for domestic...

As the co-conductor of the Wynnum Choral Society (turning 100 in 2026!!), Elizabeth shared with me her love of music and the joy of singing. We had a fun conversation that included voice impersonations, and lots of laughter. It has reignited my own passion for singing in a choir - not about having the perfect voice but all of the other benefits you gain. I hope when listening you can pick up the s...

Di Catto is the Rotary supported group leader for Days for Girls, an organisation that changes lives for young girls. Finding out about Days for Girls blew me away, as they help make education possible for many, by providing menstruation bags. There is a space in the Bayside where people come together one day a week to make these bags, to be distributed to those in need.  Di is warm and easy to sp...

Eleanor has travelled all the way from the UK to live in our beautiful part of the world. She is my first podcast guest who as a young woman was inspired by Richard Gere's An Officer and a Gentleman movie to join the Navy. She did meet the love of her life and amongst a lot of joy, travel and adventure there has been darkness, which has inspired 3 elements coffee. Eleanor and Terry do incredi...

How delightful it was to spend time with Sharon McRae, who after her own emotional and physical breakdown worked hard to claw her way back to be the best person she could be, and committed to helping others do the same. Every now and then I have a guest on the podcast who I connect with their value and purpose, and Sharon was one of those. I loved hearing about how she goes about her work in suppo...

To say Sharon is important to me is an understatement. She is one of those people I feel like I have known all my life, and I can be completely me with her. We connected about four years ago but the longer we know each other the more we uncover how our lives have intersected over a number of decades. When I thought of doing something to promote op shopping, I knew Shaz was the person to partner up...

Julie and her husband own Kova Furniture Removals, establishing the business together from one truck not all that long ago. She also finds the time to be the President of the Wynnum Manly Junior Rugby League Club. This is a big role, and both industries she is involved in are used to men being in charge!  I had a lovely conversation with Julie and was interested in hearing her insights into what l...

The chat with Saalihah was a long time in planning and I am really pleased we finally got there. Saalihah Seedat is doing great work with the Bayside community, with her My Health for Life workshops at the Community Centre.  She came a long way from Zimbabwe to live in our beautiful country, and I enjoyed learning about the work she does to improve the lives of others. Enjoy getting to know Saalih...

Julie Dixon is an example of what makes the Bayside the community it is.  I was so pleased to learn from Julie the history of the Shire Cottage, as I was always curious about it. As a volunteer, she is responsible for running the lovely Shire Cottage Markets every second month, and I didn't realise how important they are for the Waterloo Bay Leisure Centre income.  I head along every time for...

I could not have loved this interview anymore.  As an avid op-shopper, I am a regular in the Florence Street Wynnum Do-Op Shop. I always knew it was an op-shop with a difference, knowing the proceeds went back into the community. I just never understood how it all worked. Nina and her daughter are co-owners of Do-Op, starting three years ago, driven by a desire to do more around sustainability.  S...

I met Kylie Madge at the Wynnum Manly Community Awards in 2024 and knew that having a long form conversation with her would be fascinating. She is a yoga teacher, life coach and spiritual mentor and the conversation we had didn't disappoint! Kylie is a life-long Wynnum-nite and sharing her story about how she transitioned from the corporate world to assisting people in life to navigate their...

Natalie has always enjoyed creating art and was an art teacher for many years. Following a devastating loss in her life, Natalie uncovered an additional benefit of art, when she found herself lost in creating something, temporarily releasing her from the depths of grief. She created Studio Yellow to share this learning with others, combining her teaching experience and her appreciation of what cre...

I heard about Donna Duggan from our Councilor Alex Givney. Alex mentioned on her own socials that Donna was a finalist in a People's Choice Humanitarian Award for her dedication to sustainable tourism and community support in Tanzania. Donna is an incredible human, whose work in Tanzania has helped thousands of people. I loved hearing the story of her and her late husband Nas meeting, falling...

Marilyne Jacob set up and continued to lead the growth of Pete's Pantry in Wynnum.  The Pantry provides food and a space to connect for those who may be doing it tough. While the need for the service grew, Marilyne and her team of volunteers and community supporters met the challenge.   I loved hearing about Marilyne's very interesting journey to the Bayside 50 years ago, all the way fro...

Getting to know Jane was a process of uncovering a heap of layers of experiences and projects she is involved in. She has been leading some fun activities in the Bayside, including dance parties that finish by 8.30pm so people can be home in bed by 9pm (who doesn't want that!), a silent disco coming up at The Shed and some singalong sessions at the D & W bar.  A newish resident to the are...

The week I interviewed Gail for the podcast she had just sold her little fashion store on Bay Tce, Simply Bella.  She has been in the fashion industry for 50 years, and on top of that, the funeral industry! It was a great chat getting to know Gail and how she arrived to work in these very different work settings.  Chats like this one with Gail reminded me of why I continue to enjoy the podcast. It...

Ruth Kent has a wonderfully calm disposition and is easy to be in the company of.  She and her family were drawn to the Bayside in 2020 and Ruth has a passion for health and wellbeing and for people to live their best lives.  I was intrigued about the journey it has taken for Ruth to land in our beautiful part of the world, starting in Stanthorpe to teaching English to students overseas. She was g...

This is my 50th episode!  And what a conversation it was to celebrate the podcast milestone.  Gemma has her own business, Cooking Gems, after a couple of decades as a chef in other people's kitchens.  She left school at 16 and sort of fell into an industry that she continues to have a love/hate relationship with. What Gemma does love, is creating with food - cooking for other people and teach...

Aunty Becky has been on my podcast interview wish list since 2022.  It was a delight and a privilege to be in her company and hear all about her family as the original "winnamites".   As the Chairperson for winnam.org, the work Aunty Becky is doing for aged care housing in the area is visionary. She is behind the plan and advocacy of the government to build a residential aged care facili...

Liz Crowe is a long time local Bayside woman who was a social worker for over 30 years before seeing the need during the worst of the Covid times to pay more attention to staff wellbeing. She has published numerous papers, speaks at international conferences and still works providing support to staff at the Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital.  Her podcast "5 Things Nursing" gets downlo...

Jelena Logan's parents left the war in Bosnia and settled in Australia, before going on to have Jelena as a third child.  We are lucky they ended up in this beautiful part of Queensland.   This conversation allowed me to get to know Jelena, who is a bundle of energy and very, very smart. I have never met anyone who is so keen and enthusiastic in talking about hearts. She spoke of the technolo...

I met Martene when was she leading the group training class I was doing at 4 Shore Fitness. She has a fun and warm energy and a lovely Scottish accent.  Martene moved to the Bayside only a few years ago, and thanks the beautiful community for her transition.  I always enjoy the classes Martene leads at the gym, but I was extra pleased to know that her special interest is the benefits of training w...

Jess Galatola is a delight to spend time with, and has written and published her first children's book, launching in May 2024.  Some Families Change is a story Jess wrote to try and provide her boys a language following her separation from their dad.  It became a story about how sometimes families do change, for lots of difference reasons.   I enjoyed hearing about how the concept of a book b...

Ali Powell is someone that I wanted to interview last year, and we never got to it. I was so pleased to be able to finally meet and chat with her and find out how Dancing with Ali came about, and how dancing fills her cup. Ali also has a very romantic story attached to her arrival to the Bayside all the way from Canada.  Enjoy the chat! You can find more about Dancing with Ali on Facebook and Inst...